epiphyte
[ep-uh-fahyt]
- a plant that grows above the ground, supported nonparasitically by another plant or object, and deriving its nutrients and water from rain, the air, dust, etc.; air plant; aerophyte.
Show More
Origin of epiphyte
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for epiphytic
Historical Examples
Those are epiphytic orchids—air-plants, you know: they require no earth for their roots: they live on the air.
Among the plant-treasure from India, Australia and Malaya were large numbers of epiphytic orchids.
epiphyte
- a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic on it
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for epiphytic
epiphyte
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
epiphyte
[ĕp′ə-fīt′]
- A plant that grows on another plant and depends on it for support but not food. Epiphytes get moisture and nutrients from the air or from small pools of water that collect on the host plant. Spanish moss and many orchids are epiphytes. Also called aerophyte air plant
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.